Dr. LISA A. COSTA Dr. Lisa A. Costa, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the first permanent Chief Technology and Innovation Officer of the United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. In this role, she is charged with unlocking and harnessing innovation to leverage increased speed and advantage. She is responsible for developing strategy and policy to advance Science and Technology and Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation; employing cutting-edge technologies to digitally transform the USSF; assuring USSF information technology needs are met; effectively managing USSF data; and conducting analysis supporting all USSF staff elements. Prior to her current CTIO role, Dr. Costa served as Director, Communications Systems and Chief Information Officer for U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Dr. Costa also served as the Senior Director of Innovation and Technology at Engility Corporation where she brought big data and artificial intelligence to client verticals. She served as the Vice President of Intelligence and Chief Scientist at PlanetRisk, a global leader in 365/24/7 real-time predictive risk analytics. She brought progressive leadership to complex and sensitive problems facing nations and global Fortune 500 companies. She is an expert in ubiquitous technical surveillance and tradecraft. She was formerly the Director of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction and Violent Extremism at MITRE where she chaired the MITRE Corporate CWMD/Counterterrorism Council and led projects for the nation. Before that, Dr. Costa was the Executive Director of Integration and the Enterprise Systems Engineer for MITRE’s National Security Center responsible for integrating sponsor outcomes across various missions, agencies, and programs. She provided executive strategic planning for business operations and advancing the Center's $1.2 billion business base. She advised HASC and SASC staffers on emerging science and technology. She advised new presidential administrations on emerging global risk and opportunities. As a member of the Defense Science Board on numerous Task Forces and Summer Studies, Dr. Costa helped shape the U.S. model for homeland security, special operations’ role in countering terrorism, developed novel approaches to WMD early warning, and championed the use of publicly available information for great power competition. Dr. Costa was MITRE’s Chief Scientist for every combatant command and defense and service intelligence agency in the Defense Department. She was on the Office of the Secretary of Defense Senior Technical Experts Group and led MITRE’s Independent Research and Development to develop patented, globally licensed work in advanced data analytics. Dr. Costa was responsible for establishing the largest data repository and AI-enabled data mining capability outside the National Capital Region in support of special mission unit target adjudication. As Director of the Non-Traditional Information and Knowledge Exploitation cell at USSOCOM, she led multidisciplinary teams to develop worldwide intelligence assessments. These efforts were at the request of combatant commanders to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This model was used for developing intel/ops centers around the globe. EDUCATION 1986 Bachelor of Science, Mathematics and Computer Science, Rollins College, Winter Park, Fla. 1990 Master of Business Administration, Tampa College, Tampa, Fla. 1993 Doctorate of Computer Science and Engineering Management, Union Institute Cincinnati, Ohio 2021 Senior Leader Orientation Course CAREER CHRONOLOGY 1. September 2001–August 2010, Director, Non-Traditional Information and Knowledge Exploitation Cell, Tampa, Fla. 2. September 2010–September 2013, Executive Director of Enterprise Integration, MITRE National Security Engineering Center, Washington, D.C. 3. September 2013–March 2017, Director of Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction and Violent Extremism, Washington, D.C. 4. March 2017–March 2018, Vice President of Intelligence and Chief Scientist, PlanetRisk, Washington, D.C. 5. March 2018–October 2018, Senior Director of Innovation and Technology, Engility Corporation, Washington, D.C. 6. October 2018–August 2021, Director of Communications Systems and the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. 7. August 2021–present, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, U.S. Space Force, Headquarters, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS 1993 Best Paper Award in Technical Track - Evaluation of X-Based Desktops 1998 Special Recognition Award - Integrated Survey Program 1998 Program Recognition Award - Collaborative Contingency Targeting 2000 MITRE Technology Innovation Director’s Award 2001 MITRE Senior Vice President General Manager Award 2002 Special Operations Joint Interagency Collaboration Center 2002 AFCEA International Meritorious Service Award 2002 MITRE Corporation President’s Knowledge Management Award - Intelligence Analysis Cell Initiative 2003 AFCEA International Meritorious Service Award 2004 AFCEA International Meritorious Services Award - Engineering 2005 AFCEA International Commendation Award - Mid-Career Intelligence Contributions 2008 Special Programs Award - Working in the Shadows 2011 Program Recognition Award - Social Network Analysis Reachback Capability 2011 Director DIA Award - Intelligence Transformation in Afghanistan 2013 Officer’s Award - Scientific Contribution to MITRE’s Technical Stature 2013 Officer’s Award - Development and transition of Research into Operational Capability 2014 Officer’s Award - Leadership in Integration 2015 Officer’s Award - Delivering Transformational Solutions that Drive Mission Success 2016 Rollings College Alumni Achievement Award 2016 Air Force Scientific Advisory Board Letter of Appreciation for Briefing on Large Scale Data Analytics for Operational Decision Making 2020 Federal 100 Award 2021 Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Meritorious Civilian Service Award 2022 WASH100 Most Influential Leaders in the GovCon Sector 2022 WashingtonExec Chief Technology Officer of the Year 2023 DefenseScoop 50 Golden Defense Award 2023 Space Force Association Engineering and Space Technology Award (Current as of February 2024)